


Bloody Diamonds on a Pointed Crown.

by theatergirl06



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: F/F, F/M, My Selection AU!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23677531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theatergirl06/pseuds/theatergirl06
Summary: Welcome to my AU based on the Selection series by Keira Cass!
Relationships: Anne Boleyn & Anne of Cleves, Anne Boleyn & Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn & Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn/Catherine Parr, Anne of Cleves/Katherine Howard, Catherine of Aragon & Catherine Parr, Henry VIII of England/Jane Seymour, Katherine Howard & Jane Seymour
Comments: 28
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my AU based on the Selection series by Keira Cass!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No triggers in this chapter, but there is a caste system, which is why everyone has a number.   
> Enjoy!   
> (Also I did research to get accurate family names, and I'm very proud of myself:))

Jane Seymour smiled as she skipped into the salon for the first time that day. The sun rose, making her city look absolutely gorgeous. She had a coffee cup in her hand and a pair of scissors in the other. To anyone else, the image of a woman with scissors in her hand might look terrifying, but for Jane, it was absolutely normal, and everyone in her small town of Pipeland knew it.    
Entering the salon, she waved hello to her parents, her father at the cash register and her mother in the back organizing the shampoo bottles. She threw her coffee in the garbage and took a seat at her usual place, right in front of the center mirror on the right side of the salon, between Thomas and their part-time helper Abigail, who wasn’t in today.

“Good morning, Thomas!”

“Morning, Jane.”

Jane giggled as she set up her hairspray bottles in their usual formation. “Did you get  _ any  _ sleep at all?”

There was a pause.

“Thomas?”

“No.”

“Thomas. You know that’s not good for you. And don’t tell me you were on the phone with your secret girlfriend again!”

“But she…”   
“I don’t  _ care  _ how cute you think she is, Thomas, you know we can’t afford phone bills like that. We may not be struggling, but you know as well as I that Fours like us don’t have enough money for extra things, especially with so many children. For God’s sake, there are  _ five  _ of us!”

Thomas leaned back in the chair and rolled his eyes at his older sister. “Jane, you don’t get it. This girl is a Three. If I marry her, I could get some of her money. It would help us out a lot.”

“Thomas, you are sixteen and seventeen years old. You are  _ way  _ too young to even  _ think  _ about marriage.”

“Oh, please, Jane. You’ve never even  _ dated  _ a guy. What do you know about love?”

Jane felt her face turn red as she set the round hairbrush down on the table. “Well...I suppose you’re right. I’ve never been in love, but I know true love is real. That it can only be found once. And,” she pointedly looked at Thomas, “that even if you think you’ve found true love, it’s wise to  _ wait  _ until you’re not sixteen before you run off and go get married.” She sighed, a starry look forming in her blue eyes. “True love may be once-in-a-lifetime, but any real relationship takes time to build. Until it’s just...perfect.” She smiled, setting yet another bottle down on the table and twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger. 

Edward tossed an empty shampoo bottle at Jane as he walked by. “Jesus, Jane, you’re such a sap.” 

Jane put her hand on her hip. “Say what you want about me. I just mean I’m not going to run off into someone’s bed anytime soon.”

Edward grinned and leaned back as though he’d been punched. “Whoah, kitten has claws!”

Thomas hopped up and sat on the table. “Well, it’s not like Edward is doing that either, cause he can’t even get himself a girlfriend.”

Jane began to braid the side of her hair absentmindedly. Her two oldest brothers,both younger than her, got into discussions like this almost every day, and though she had no trouble defending herself, she had no patience for their fighting when there was work to do. 

Henry ran up and leapt onto Thomas’s shoulders. “Don’t be mean, Thomas!”

“Edward started it, little bro!”

“I did not! It was Jane!”

“What did  _ I do _ ?!”

Eleven year old Elizabeth pranced over and wrapped her arms around Jane’s waist, grinning. “Don’t worry, Janey, no matter how much of a sap you are, we still looooove you!”

Jane laughed and squeezed her sister around the shoulders. “Aaw, little Liz, I love you too.”

Elizabeth glowered at her eight years older sister. “ _ Don’t  _ call me Liz. It’s  _ Elizabeth. _ ”

Thomas grinned. “Sure thing, Liz.”

Elizabeth launched herself off of Jane’s lap and started attacking Thomas. Being eleven, short, skinny, and not combat trained at all, she did no damage, but her weight combined with Henry’s brought Thomas toppling to the ground, causing Edward to break into a fit of laughter. Jane punched him on the arm. He punched her back. He reached for her hair, but she dug her nails into his arm before he got too close. He swung his arm and slapped her on the wrist.

_ Brothers.  _

She swung her arm to slap Edward in the face, but Thomas’s legs wrapped around her ankles and she and Edward went toppling to the pile. 

Of course, that was the moment their parents walked in. Though they were very used to seeing their children in a pile on the floor, it was explicitly forbidden in the salon. And when it ended up there, they became incredibly mad. 

Jane looked up from fending off Edward and Thomas’s punches to see her mother’s pointed black heeled boot planted in front of her face. She let out a little squeak, scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could, and came face to face with her mother, arms crossed over her chest, and looking  _ very  _ pissed. 

“ _ What  _ did we say about fights in the salon?”

Thomas groaned. There were bruises on his arms, Elizabeth’s back, Henry’s shoulders, Edward’s face, and Jane’s wrists. “That...fights in the salon aren’t allowed.”

Jane swore her mother’s stare could kill if she wanted it to. She’d never been able to master that skill, no matter how many times she’d tried. 

“That’s right. And you all have until I count to five to get back to your mirrors and be completely set up, or you will see what I look like in a bad mood without my coffee. Five….” 

Jane and Thomas spun around and looked back at their mirrors, Thomas frantically trying to arrange all his bottles and brushes, Jane quietly smirking because all of hers were already set up.

So began another day of cutting, brushing, washing, and styling. The morning flew by, as most mornings did, and Jane found herself on lunch break with Elizabeth at noon, eating turkey sandwiches and greeting people as they walked on by. That was the odd thing about a small town like this. Everyone knew everyone. The castes, as controversial as they were, were almost invisible in Pipeland. Almost everyone there was a Four, running their own business. There were a few Threes, writers working on their books and looking for some peace, and some scattered Fives and Sixes, though they usually tended to try their luck in larger cities. 

Jane waved to the Millers as they skipped by, ice cream cones from the parlor in hand. She leaned back and felt the cool breeze run through her hair. 

Elizabeth leaned down and rested her head on her chest, her slightly darker blonde curls spilling over Jane’s arm. “Jane, do you ever think about leaving this town? Heading for someplace...bigger?”    
Jane smiled down at her little sister. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I love this town. I love the salon. It’s soothing and it feels like home. When I think about leaving it, leaving Mum and Dad and you...I don’t want to. But...when I think about love, marriage, all the things I sometimes dream about...I feel like there’s nothing I  _ wouldn’t  _ do for love.”

Elizabeth laughed from her spot on her lap. “You do realize you aren’t actually in love with anyone, right? You...have nobody to marry?” 

Jane smiled down at her sister. “Elizabeth, I’m nineteen. I know I have plenty of time to see the world, to do things, and to fall in love. I’m just...well, a romantic.”    
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her older sister’s waist. “All right, Janey. If you say so.”

Jane ruffled Elizabeth’s hair, something she’d been doing since she was nine. “What about you?”

Elizabeth laughed and sat up, perched on Jane’s leg. “Oh, me? Big sis, I’m going to study. I’m going to go to school. I’m going to marry a Three, maybe even a Two, and I’m going to get the hell out of this town.”

“Elizabeth! You’re eleven! You shouldn’t use words like that!”

“Eh. Whatever. Can we get ice cream?”   
Jane couldn’t stop grinning. “Well, I  _ do  _ have a little extra cash.”

But before they could even begin to walk off the steps, Henry and Thomas came rushing out the front door of the salon, Henry completely breathless, even Thomas seeming shell-shocked with excitement. He was looking at Jane.

“You need to come see this.”   
Five minutes later, a  _ closed  _ sign had been put on the door, and the entire family was circled around the table, looking at a piece of mail sitting in the center. Though they all knew what it said, Jane could still barely process the contents, even with her mother’s voice reading her the words. 

_ Dear Citizen of Mochia, _

_ We have been informed that a young woman between the ages of sixteen and twenty currently resides in your household. We would like to ask your daughter,  _ **_Jane Seymour_ ** _ to participate in the 11th Selection, for the marriage of Prince Henry Tudor. _

_ Please fill out the attached forms, and take them to the city hall of  _ **_Pipeland_ ** _ by Wednesday, August 8th.  _

_ Sincerely,  _

_ King Henry and Queen Liz _

Jane stared at the royal seal on the envelope. Slowly, she picked it up. As she did, a shock ran through her body. She had no way to describe it except as...a feeling. 

A tingling in her fingers.

A thought flitting its way across her mind. 

A beating of her heart.

Was this fate?

Either way, it was something, and it was important. She knew it.

Jane looked up at her family.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s finish those forms.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No TWs for this one!

It almost seems as though half the forms didn’t even exist. Name, birthday, age, it wasn’t important. What was important was the fact that there was a Selection. There hadn’t been a selection since Jane’s parents were children. Her mother had barely been thirteen when King Henry had had his own selection and married Queen Liz, but like the entire country, she had watched the Selection religiously, and she’d been telling Jane about it from the day she was born.

It sounded like something out of a dream. Every girl dreamed of going, it was a fact. Who wouldn’t want to be swept up in a world of palaces, luxury, romance, spotlights, and to have a chance at becoming the next queen? 

Jane had always known that if she could, she would apply for the Selection. Her family was so fond of it, it meant so much to them, how could she not? But unlike almost every girl she had ever seen, she had never been interested in the palace and the money and the dresses and the spotlight. To her, the Selection seemed like it carried the possibility of true love.

Jane adored the salon. She adored her family. She loved her life. But she knew that if she stayed in the salon forever, the chances of ever finding love were next to impossible.

But if she were to take part in the Selection, even if she didn’t fall in love with Prince Henry, she would have a ticket to a different life. One where she could be seen. One where she could find love.

She was being ridiculous. She hadn’t even been chosen yet, and here she was dreaming of true love like a complete idiot. She knew how the world worked. She’d seen it.

But she couldn’t help feeling like this was something special. Like it was different.

In a haze, she signed her name on the bottom of the forms, adding a tiny heart at the end of her name, just for fun. 

Her mother put her hand on her shoulder, stroking her blonde hair gently. “Do you want to come with me and take these forms to City Hall tomorrow?”

Jane nodded, trying to come out of her haze. “Yeah, yeah. All right.”

Her mother cocked her head with worry. “Are you okay, love?”

“Of course, mum.”

“All right.”

Edward squeezed her arm. “Do you want to take the rest of the day off? Thomas and I will cover for you.”   
“No we won’t,” said Thomas sharply. Edward punched him. “Ow!”

Jane smiled, still hiding her shock. “No. I’ll work. I could use the distraction.”

So she went back to cutting and styling hair, pretending that she didn’t feel the tingles, the electric excitement in the back of her mind. As she braided the hair of a woman named Gretchen who owned the local bakery, she tried to focus on her beautiful jewelry that she’d left on the table. Hoop earrings, a ring, and a bracelet, all beautiful white gold.

“Gretchen?”

“Yes, Jane?” Though she was several years older than Jane, Gretchen was someone she considered a friend. Such was the way of a small town.

“Forgive me if I’m being rude, but...how did you afford jewelry so fancy?”

Gretchen laughed. “I was wondering when someone would noticed that I’m a little too dressed up for a Four. Actually, my mother was in the last Selection. She kept the jewelry the King gave her, and when she died, she passed it down onto me. I always wear it to honor and remember her.”

Jane sighed. 

“Say, did you hear that there’s a new Selection? You’re nineteen, right?”

She just couldn’t get away from it. “Yep. I think I’m going to enter.”

Gretchen leapt up from the chair, making Jane drop the scissors in her hands with a start, and wrapped the young woman in a tight hug.

“Oh, Jane! That’s just wonderful! I can’t wait to see you on television, and say I know you when you become the favorite, and…”

“Gretchen! I haven’t even been chosen to go to the palace yet!”

“Oh, but you will. You’re a doll, how could you not?”

Jane blushed. “I really don’t think…”

“Oh please, love. Be as modest as you want, it won’t change the facts.”

Before Jane could stop her, Gretchen was standing on top of the table and shouting. “Hey everyone! Jane’s going to enter the Selection!” 

A buzz of chatter came over the salon. Jane couldn’t hear every word, but she caught snippets of “so exciting!” and “oh wow!” and “we’re going to know the favorite!” and “oh, if anyone’s going to win, it’s going to be her!” and “she’s so charming!” “such a beauty.” 

Jane sighed. So much drama and she hadn’t even turned in her forms yet. It wouldn’t be long before the entire town knew. If she’d ever had any doubts about entering, they had to go away now. She couldn’t let everyone down. These were her friends. The entire town was basically her family. 

She groaned and raced out onto the steps. She wanted to do this so badly, but not like this. She didn’t want all the attention, the pressure, everyone’s hopes pinned on her and her alone.

She just wanted love. A love story. Was that too much to ask?

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and groaned when she saw Edward and Thomas standing before her.

“Please go away.”

“Too bad.”

“I’ll go.”

“Shut up, Thomas. Don’t listen to him, Jane. He’s an idiot.”

“I know.”

“You’re not seriously going to listen to all those people, are you?”

“Yeah, you’re never going to get picked.” 

“Alright, Thomas. You can leave now.”

“Finally.” The sixteen year old turned on his heel (very dramatically), and went back inside. Edward rolled his eyes.

“Jane, I’m serious. They’re being idiots.They should know not to put you under pressure like that. If they care about you at all…”

“They  _ do,  _ Ed. They’re just excited.”

“Either way, it’s stupid of them. They all know how hard it is to get picked for the Selection. They know you. They know how much you want this. They shouldn’t be making you any more nervous than you already are.”

Jane sighed as she sat down on the stone steps. “I know they just want the best for me. It’s just...I have a feeling about this. Like it’s going to be huge. And at first that was exciting, but now everyone’s eyes are on me and...it’s terrifying.”

Edward sat down and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Despite Edward’s teasing nature, he and Jane (being the oldest), had always been close. It seemed as though he always knew the right thing to say to her, and she hoped she did the same for him. 

“Jane, you’ve dreamed about something like this for years. Yeah, it does come with a lot of pressure, but you’ve spent your whole life trying to help everyone. For once, do something  _ you  _ want to do. Do something for yourself. And if it doesn’t amount to anything, then so what? That just means no pressure.”

Jane smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

“I always am.”

“No, you’re really not. But you’re right now.”

Edward smiled. “Fair enough.”

Jane checked her watch. “Oh god! It’s seven thirty already! We need to go clean up!”

So she went back inside, feeling lighter than she had since the letter had come. Maybe this wouldn’t be so scary after all. 

The next morning, she was reminded of why this was so nerve wracking. 

Jane had always hated getting her picture taken. She’d been told she was pretty once or twice, but she knew she wasn’t gorgeous. She was normal, nice looking at best, and she was certainly not photogenic. She was one of those people who blinked every time the cameras flashed.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew a lot of getting chosen depended on this photo. Caste and appearance were the two key factors of getting into the Selection. Though there were other things on the application, that was all anyone cared about. Very rarely did anyone get in based on their written pieces, and though Jane had spoken from the heart, she wasn’t an amazing writer.

As a Four, it took a lot to get her into the Selection. Not a miracle, but a lot. She probably had to be pretty and a good writer. And she was neither. Looking at the girls around her (all of whom were also Fours, she knew), she saw girls covered in makeup, dressed in their fanciest clothes, with elaborately braided hair.

Jane hadn’t wanted to do any of that. It wasn’t genuine to who she really was. So she’d just put on a nice black and white printed blouse with a denim skirt, put some pretty clips in her hair and a bit of blush on her face, and left it at that. She’d thought she looked nice, but looking around at everyone else, now she wasn’t so sure. 

Either way, she found herself trembling as she stood at the front of the line, right in between Edward and her best friend Cecily, who helped her parents run the local pharmacy. She and Jane had known each other since they were toddlers, and spent hours cooped up together in the back of the pharmacy, sneaking candy off the shelves when their parents weren’t looking. Cecily was almost the very opposite of Jane; honest to the point of brutality, ambitious, smart as a whip with plenty of sass and sarcasm, but Jane adored her, and it was because they were so different that they were able to look out for one another so well. 

“Next!” yelled the woman with the clipboard in her hand. Jane didn’t recognize her, so she must’ve been someone who worked for the royal family. 

Jane felt her body freeze up. Was she really ready for this? To put herself out there? She’d never done anything like this before. 

Seeing her friend’s expression of fear, Cecily grabbed Jane’s arms and stared her right in the eyes. “Hey. You want this. It’s your dream. They’re gonna know that. If you don’t make it, what happens? Nothing.” 

Jane sighed. Cecily was always right. 

“Now go kick some ass.”

Jane smiled and handed her forms to the woman with the clipboard. The woman read them over and nodded. 

“Studio 3, please.”

“Thank you!”

Jane was relieved as she stepped into the studio and saw not enormous cameras and bright lights, but one tiny camera on a tripod, a pale blue backdrop, and one photographer, a young woman with a smile on her face.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning, love! What’s your name?”

“I’m Jane Seymour.”

“Alright, Jane. Just sit on the stool and smile.”

She sat down. She let her mind wander, as she often did when her picture was being taken. It was usually because she couldn’t focus on the flash, but today her mind wandered to the core of her fear.

This was her dream. The chance to find love. The tingles in her heart. The chance to help her family. All rolled into one. 

She felt her heart flutter, and she let it. She let herself dream of love. She let herself believe that it could really happen. She let herself picture it. She felt like she was on top of the world, floating in the clouds.

The camera flashed.

Jane didn’t get to look at the photo afterwards, but she could only hope it had truly captured her feeling of love. 

A week later, the family was crowded around the television. All of her siblings were staring anxiously at the screen, but Jane had decided it was better to bury herself in a book. She was too nervous to watch the television, to focus. 

What was the point? She was plain, unnoticeable. She was never going to be chosen for something like this, not in a million years. 

The news came on, and everyone in the room froze, staring at the screen. Jane buried her face deeper into her book. 

There were going to be twenty girls and women from all over Mochia. Jane’s chances of being one of them were next to nothing.

The reporter spoke some words. Jane heard none of them. Then, pictures started flashing on the screen. Next to them were names and castes that were being announced at the same time by the newscaster.

The names started flying by. Jane barely registered them, although there seemed to be a lot of Catherines. She lost count after a while.

Then the words came.

“Jane Seymour of Pipeland, Four.”

Jane dropped her book. She blinked.

Had that been right? Had she misheard? Could it be true?

And then everyone was leaping up and squealing and hugging her, and Edward was grinning and Thomas was rolling his eyes and Elizabeth was squealing and Henry was yelling and her mother was hugging her and her father was crying.

It had really happened.

She was going to the palace. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No TWs for this chapter! Enjoy!

The next week had passed by in a complete and utter blur. Jane had to prepare everything for her trip to the palace. She’d already filled out most of the necessary forms, so luckily she hadn’t had to do too many more of those. But there was one form that had made all of her family stop in their tracks.

The liability forms.

Of course, going to live in a palace shouldn’t be dangerous. But a few years ago, the news had gone crazy with the up and coming revolution.    
Two groups of people had appeared, and they had started a rebellion.

One group wasn’t particularly violent. They protested. They caused minor injuries. Occasionally, they took hostages. They didn’t kill. No one knew who their leader was, only that they fought for a new kind of government, an end to the caste system, and a democracy. 

But the other group was different. They were louder, deadlier. They didn’t want a democracy, only to overthrow the dictators so they could  _ become  _ the dictators.

And they were lead by none other than the royal family’s old right hand, Thomas Cromwell.

With the Selection happening, and the royal family getting even more attention from the media than usual, it was pretty much guaranteed that one or both rebel groups would attack the palace, placing Jane and all the other young women in direct danger.

The Protesters and the Blind Ones.    
Blind to morals and sanity and reality.

They could kill her.

But this was her dream. And every dream had consequences. Perhaps hers was a little bit of danger, a little risk.

So she’d signed the forms.

That was four days ago. Now she was waking up at five in the morning to get on a flight so she could go to the palace. She was going to meet the other women, nineteen besides herself. She was going to meet the king and the queen.

She was going to see the prince.

Her entire family was awake, too, of course. They all went to the salon at five in the morning to say goodbye. Her mother adjusted her black and white sundress. It was the nicest thing she owned. It wasn’t much compared to what she knew the other girls were going to be wearing, but it was the best she could do.    
Her father was the first to leave the salon, a snoring Henry in his arms. The 9 year old was nowhere near functional so early in the morning, so he’d said a quick goodbye and promptly fallen asleep. Her father gave her a hug and a kiss on the head.

“Don’t be too scared, love. This is your dream. Don’t let fear ruin it for you.”

She smiled. “I won’t, dad. Love you.”

Elizabeth was next to go. She’d braided Jane’s hair in a coil on the side of her head. It looked gorgeous next to the fake diamond earrings they’d picked out. She felt regal and almost pretty, which was rare for her. 

After she left, Jane’s mother wrapped her in her arms, squeezing her tightly.

“I love you, Jane. You’ll be absolutely amazing out there. Do the salon proud.”

And with that, she gave her hand one last squeeze and walked out the door, leaving Jane alone with her two brothers.

Thomas gave her a very awkward slap on the shoulder. “Don’t do anything too mortifying.”

“Don’t do anything stupid with your girlfriend.”

Thomas gave her an angry glare and stormed out of the salon. Jane looked at Edward in surprise. 

“What was that about?”

“He didn’t tell you? She broke up with him a few days ago.”   
“What? But they were up all night talking  _ all the time _ .”

“Yeah. It was crazy. Out of the blue.”

“Wonder why.”

“Me too.”

They stared at each other for a second. Jane could feel her eyes starting to water.

God, she would miss everyone, but she would miss Edward the most. Him and Cecily, they understood her better than anyone. What was she going to do out there, at the palace, with the ruthlessness and the cameras and the...the, well, everything.

She threw her arms around him. “Ed, I’m scared. I’m really scared. What am I gonna do out there?”

Edward squeezed her gently, making her breathe more evenly against the weight of his arms.

“Jane, this is your dream. You were born for this. I know it’s scary out there, but we’re gonna talk on the phone, and you aren’t going to lose me forever.” He leaned back and looked her straight in the eye. “This was going to be you. It was always going to be you. You may be the only good person in that competition, but I know you won’t let that stop you. Look, I don’t believe in a lot of things, but I believe in you.”

Jane wiped at her eyes. “God, Edward, you’re going to make me cry before I go and stand in front of a bunch of cameras.”

“You hate cameras.”

Jane smiled as she tried to hold back her tears. “So do you.”

There was a knock at the door of the salon. 

“God, Ed, I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

And with that, he was gone, and she was being rushed in front of a huge crowd of cameras into a car.

It was, without a shadow of a doubt, the fanciest car she had ever seen. A huge limousine with a mini bar and a refrigerator and a skylight through which she could see the sky turning pink as the sun rose.

She’d gone over her plan a thousand times in her head. She wasn’t going to try and befriend everyone today. As much as she wanted to be that person, she knew she was an introvert. It wasn’t what she did, and she was determined not to exhaust herself on the first day.

So she would befriend one person at most, and only if it was the right person. She was _ not  _ going to waste her time sucking up to mean people. She’d seen thousands of clips from the last Selection, when her parents were children. She knew sucking up to other girls was the absolute wrong thing to do. 

The car ride seemed to drag on for years, with the sky turning from pink to pale yellow to bright, robin’s-egg blue. Looking back, Jane wouldn’t have been able to remember most of what she’d been thinking. Only the sky.

But soon she was at the airport, and then she was in the air, and then she was touching down at a small airport about 100 miles from the palace in Royalia. There were huge crowds calling her name, paparazzi snapping photos, and people holding signs with every possible message you could imagine. But the guards rushed her through a door soon after, and there was finally quiet.

Jane plopped down into a chair, groaning. God, if she couldn’t handle these crowds for a few seconds, how in hell was she going to handle the palace?

It was only after a few seconds that she realized there was another girl sitting on the other side of the room.    
Jane recognized her instantly. She was Katherine Howard, the girl who had been instantly praised by the media as being the most beautiful girl in the competition. She was also a Five, a poor artist, which was odd, seeing as the Selection most certainly favored the rich. 

Not only that, but she was also the youngest girl in the competition. She was only sixteen.

She was as gorgeous in person as she seemed based off of her photo. Short with long, rich brown hair tipped with bright pink that suited her soft, sunny vibes perfectly. Her brown eyes looked so deep that you could fall right into them and never come back. 

She was without a doubt drop-dead gorgeous. 

She was wearing a pink velvet dress with short sleeves and a pearl choker around her neck. She had pink diamond studs in her ears, but Jane knew they were fake. If she couldn’t afford real diamonds, Katherine certainly couldn’t. All the divides between castes were big, but the divide between Fours and Fives was absolutely massive. Fours were always guaranteed survival. Fives were most certainly not.

But the  _ oddest  _ thing about her was that instead of a small suitcase like Jane and everyone else Jane had ever seen in her clips, she had a guitar strapped on her back. It was small, perfectly suited to her short height, and Jane could tell by the way she held it that it was  _ her  _ guitar.   
It made sense. Fives were artists, after all, and that included musicians.

She gave the girl a friendly wave from across the room. She looked so nervous, it only seemed polite. Katherine gave her a small smile and waved back. 

Just as Jane was beginning to think of going up to her and saying hello, a tall woman strutted into the room wearing a dress made out of yellow silk embroidered with what looked like real gold. Her already formidable height was supplemented by a pair of  _ very _ high heels.   
Like Katherine, Jane recognized her instantly. She was Catalina Aragon, daughter of the mayor of Alephia, one of the largest cities in all of Mochia. Rich, gorgeous, and already a powerhouse in interviews, she was a favorite of the public and a force to be reckoned with. 

She marched up to Jane and put her hand on her hip. “Are you Jane Seymour?”

Jane found herself unable to form words, so she simply nodded.    
Catalina smiled, but it wasn’t a soft smile like the one Katherine had given her. No, this smile was strong and radiated power.

It did not at all radiate friendliness. In fact, it was the opposite.

She didn’t even need to say anything. Her message to Jane was clear.

_ This competition is mine. _

Jane gulped as the tall woman strode past her. She’d been expecting mean girls, but dealing with them in person was a whole other level of  _ terrifying. _

“Don’t listen to her.”

She turned in surprise to find Katherine Howard standing next to her. Up close, she could see the velvet material of the girl’s dress wasn’t real, either.

“She didn’t even say anything.”

“You and I both know what she meant to say.”   
Jane offered the young girl another smile. “And why shouldn’t I listen to her?”

“Whatever the reason is for you to be here, I know she isn’t it. So you shouldn’t care what she thinks.”

Jane stared at her for a second. She was right, of course, but she hadn’t expected such wisdom from someone so young and pretty, and she hadn’t expected it so quickly. Truth be told, she’d been expecting her to be a bit of a bubblehead.

Katherine gave her a smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t bite.”

Jane laughed. “I’m so sorry, I’m just…”   
“Nervous?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too.”

There was an awkward pause.

“Right.”

“So…”

“Do you want to just agree now that we’re not going to be mean?” The words were out of Jane’s mouth before she could control them.

Katherine looked a bit surprised, but happy. “I’d...actually like that, yeah.”

Catalina suddenly appeared and plunked her suitcase down between them.

“Come on, people. We’re late and we don’t have all day.” She turned and gave them both a polarizing stare. “And it’s obvious both those earrings are fake.”

Jane had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Less than one day and she’d already met a giant crowd, a nice person, and a...not so nice person.

This was going to be a wild ride.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No TWs for this one, I don't think! Enjoy!

The ride from the airport to the palace, like so much of the rest of the day, passed by in a complete blur. Catalina was sitting in the front next to the driver, yelling at him every five minutes to go slower or faster or turn the other direction. Even from the back, Jane could tell that both she and the driver were incredibly annoyed. 

Jane sat in the back with Katherine. The younger girl also seemed distracted, staring out the window and occasionally plucking a string on her guitar. Even though she wasn’t playing, Jane could tell she was very talented by the ease with which her fingers nimbly navigated the strings. It was the same ease with which Jane handled hair, braiding and brushing as though it was as easy as twiddling her thumbs, because for her, it was.

Besides the occasional glance towards the others, Jane spent most of the drive lost in thought, worrying about what was to come. 

Before she got to meet the prince, which was nerve-wracking enough on its own, she had to spend three hours in a lounge socializing with other girls between sixteen and twenty years old, all of whom wanted the same thing she did, and most of whom would do anything to get it.

In short, the introverted, awkward young woman was going to have to go through middle school all over again. Manipulation and cliques and fighting. And she was going to have to still hold her head high the whole time. 

First impressions went a long way.

After some time, the car pulled right up to the outside of the palace. Jane couldn’t help but stare. The building was absolutely enormous, made entirely of white marble with gold inlaid into several of the towers, making the entire building glow. It sprawled for what seemed to be miles with no end. It was surrounded on both sides by huge, elaborate gardens that seemed to be completely overflowing with flowers. There was a clear pond on the left with a weeping willow hanging over its edge.   
For heaven’s sakes, they were even riding up a cobblestone path and through a gate with metal that was twisted into the seal of the royal house of Tudor.

It was absolutely grand. There was no word for it other than grand. 

Katherine had her head cocked sideways and was staring at the palace from behind Jane’s shoulder. Despite the fact that she had much less luxuries than Jane to begin with, she seemed much less wowed at the sight than she was. Jane turned to her, confused.

“Impressed?”

The young musician shrugged. “It’s pretty, I suppose. But I don’t know...it feels sort of...not real.”

Jane gave the girl a smile. “You’re a bit of an odd one, you know that?”

“Believe me, I know.”

Catalina turned to face them from the front of the car, rolling her eyes. “You’re both wrong. This place is downright unimpressive. I’ve been to bigger houses for frat parties.”

Jane tried to hide her irritation. Where did this girl think she was going to get by basically calling herself better than the literal royal family? If she wanted to be queen so badly, then she could just say so and compete like everyone else. She didn’t have to play this backwards showing off game.

Katherine caught Jane’s eye from across the car and made a face, causing the hairdresser to hide her giggles from the rich woman.

The car rolled to a complete stop in front of a pair of tall marble doors inlaid with gold. Catalina hopped out of the passenger’s seat gracefully, followed by Jane tripping over her suitcase and Katherine gently and slowly lowering herself down so as not to damage her guitar.

All around them, other cars that had been timed to arrive exactly at the same time were pulling up, and young women were piling out in groups of three and four, each dressed in the most luxurious outfit they owned, varying from false velvets like Katherine’s and simple sundresses like Jane’s to full on silks and satins like Catalina’s. There was even one woman a few cars down who was wearing a suit.

They looked so beautiful that Jane couldn’t help but smile at the sight of them all. 

Slowly, all twenty women were ushered inside to a huge hall, which, if possible, was even grander than the outside. The walls seemed to be made of pure gold, the white marble domed ceiling shining with the reflections of light going through the enormous crystal chandelier. Roses and tulips in every shade of pink and red lined the walls. In the center of the room was a long crystal table laden with every tiny snack that had ever possibly existed, as well as an enormous bowl of lemonade at the end.

The women grabbed their tiny plates (also gold), and began traveling down the table, slowly putting food on their plates. As each finished piling, they all began to intermix with one another, filling the room with chatter. Jane focused her attention on trying to choose all of the best appetizers, but there were so many, and she’d never eaten food anywhere near this fancy in her life.

Because of that, she wasn’t too focused on observing the other girls. She knew it would only make her more nervous, which she didn’t need right now. But when she turned to find Katherine, the Five was nowhere to be seen, leaving Jane to either talk to someone else or stand by the side awkwardly. 

Honestly, she didn’t like either option. 

But before she could even choose, a tall girl with brown hair and green eyes bounded up to her. She was dressed similarly to Jane in terms of fanciness, in a deep green dress made out of what looked like maybe linen. But the style was completely different. Jane’s sundress was loose and simple, while this girl’s dress was tight with a low neckline and a short skirt. But Jane couldn’t deny that she looked gorgeous with her mini space buns and her little heels.

The girl put her arm around Jane’s shoulder and stuck her tongue out at one of the many camera people circling the room. 

Before Jane could even ask her what was going on, the woman had disappeared into the crowd, leaving her feeling very confused and a bit dazed.

She stared at the chandelier and munched on a piece of pineapple. This wasn’t quite so bad. She could just stand here and...think. 

She felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around, her drink nearly spilling all over her sundress. But when she turned, she nearly dropped her drink all over again.

She’d never met the young woman standing directly in front of her in person, but she had seen many, many pictures and heard many, many rants, daydreams, worries.

She was face to face with none other than Cathy Parr, her own brother’s girl... _ ex  _ girlfriend.

Of course Cathy, having never seen a picture of anyone other than Thomas, had absolutely no idea who she was. She blinked, clearly confused. Jane shook her head, trying to stop her brain from going a million miles an hour.

“Sorry, love, what did you say?”

The woman...Cathy...gave her a polite smile. “I was just wondering if I could squeeze by you so I could get to the food.”

“Oh, of course. So sorry!” Jane scurried sideways, blushing in embarrassment, and tried to walk away slowly while pretending she wasn’t staring.

She’d only really been able to study up on a few of the women before she got here, but she’d only forgotten a few of their names! Had it really been necessary for Thomas’s ex girlfriend to be one of them? She wanted to punch herself.

She also sort of wanted to punch Cathy for breaking Thomas’s heart, but violence would have gotten her kicked out, and that was _ not  _ the impression she wanted to leave on the very first day.

Not to mention the fact that she could slap all right in self defense, but if she ever tried throw a real, non playful punch, she would probably hurt her hand.

But seriously, if Cathy had wanted to enter the Selection, she shouldn’t have dated Thomas and strung him along. Or maybe if she had wanted to date Thomas, she shouldn’t have entered the Selection. Something like that.

Before she could try and come up with all the reasons why Cathy would have broken her brother’s heart like this in the first place, Katherine appeared out of the crowd, coming to stand next to her.

“Hi.” Just her voice was tricky to interpret, a mix of dreamy and optimistic. Jane liked Katherine, but she was already struggling to figure her out. She seemed to be mostly an optimist who had a way with people, but there were times when she seemed warm and sunny and others where she seemed just plain stoic. And Jane had only known her for a few hours!

Nonetheless, she certainly seemed like a real potential friend, and they  _ had  _ promised not to be mea, so Jane gave her a warm smile back. “Hey!”

“How’s the party going?”

Jane gave a wry smile, trying to hide just how irritated she was. “Apparently my younger brother’s ex girlfriend is here.”

Katherine let out a laugh that sounded like bells. “Wow, that’s pretty bad. Sounds like something that would happen on TV.”

“This  _ is  _ on TV.”   
“I meant  _ fictional  _ TV.”

Jane laughed. “How about you? Having fun?”

Katherine sighed and took a sip of lemonade. “I don’t know. Most people seem fine, but some of them just...aren’t. One of them tried to take my guitar. I nearly hit her over the head with it.” She smiled. “But hey! My cousin’s here! That’s her over there.” To Jane’s surprise, she pointed to the girl with the green eyes. “My family kinda hates her because her mum and dad are caste climbing manipulator type people, but I met her once when we were young and seemed nice.”

Jane eyed the girl, who was currently attempting to juggle three oranges from a fruit bowl, warily.

“Where’s she from?”

“Oh, she’s from Adena Ridge. Pretty far away from here. Her name’s Anne.”

Before Jane could ask more about who Anne was or what reasons she might have for juggling oranges, a gong sounded at the end of the room. All the women instantly stood up as straight as they could, trying to form their best imitation of a line. 

A man walked forward. He was tall and rather imposing, with pale skin and dark eyes. 

He was Mr. Adams, the royal family’s advisor and the man who ran the entire Selection, but he was mostly known throughout the kingdom for being strict and harsh enough to earn himself the nickname Hades.

Jane felt a shiver run down her spine. Now that she’d met Mr. Adams in person, she knew exactly where his nickname came from.

He cleared his throat and raised his hand. The hall fell completely and utterly silent.

“Welcome, ladies. I’m Mr. Adams, and I’m going to be running everything while you stay here. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll go over all the rules later, but for now, I’m going to ask that you follow me up to your rooms, where you’ll meet your maids and get prepared for tonight’s dinner, where you’ll meet the prince at last. You have a few hours between now and then, so feel free to take a rest.”

As she followed the crowd up the enormous staircase and down several halls, Jane couldn’t help thinking that there was no way she’d be able to rest. 

For the sake of privacy, most of their rooms weren’t too close to one another. There were two women per floor per wing, plus two women who had tower rooms. Jane was sleeping on the fourth floor of the East Wing.

The second she opened her bedroom door, she was in love. The whole room was made of soft velvets and silks, and it felt like the absolute epitome of comfort. There was a huge four-poster bed and a personal, huge bathroom, a giant, soft couch, and two doors that opened up to the balcony. Everything was done in soft shades of white, just like she’d asked in the “bedroom color preference” part of her forms.

She longed to admire her room, explore the floor, and meet her maid, but she was absolutely exhausted, and the day wasn’t even over yet. She fell onto her bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No TWs! Enjoy!

Jane wasn’t sure how long she’d been sleeping when she felt a pair of arms gently shaking her awake. She slowly opened her eyes to reveal a blonde woman standing above the bed. She looked to be about the same age as her, and they even had similarly colored eyes.   
She pushed herself up until she was leaning on her pillows, yawning as she did so.   
The woman smiled at her as she drew open the curtains, revealing a setting sun in the sky outside.  
“It’s dinnertime. You get to meet the prince.”  
Jane flung herself out of her bed, excited but still slightly tired, slow to wake up as usual. “Who are you? What’s your name?”  
The woman looked up with wide eyes, almost as though she was surprised that Jane had asked at all. “Oh, I’m your maid. I’m Joan Metuas. I’m gonna...help take care of you while you’re here.”  
“Like a friend?”  
If possible, Joan looked even more surprised. “I mean...if that’s what you want...I guess.”  
“Well, I’d love to at least be on good terms with you if we’re gonna see each other so much.”  
Joan smiled. “Well, we can talk later if you’d like, but for now, you have to get ready for dinner.”  
She pulled open a closet door that Jane hadn’t seen before, revealing row after row of dresses in every color of the rainbow, long and short, embellished and plain, that seemed to stretch on forever. They made the simple sundress she was wearing seem like a faded rag.  
Joan grinned at her wide-eyed, openmouthed expression. “Everyone who comes to the palace gets that face.”  
“I imagine. So...do I...pick one?”  
“Not exactly. In the future when we have big events like this, I’ll make your dresses with the help of the other maids. But tonight, well...we don’t really know you yet, so you can just choose.”   
Jane went into the closet and ran her fingers over the fabric. She hadn’t come to this Selection for the luxury or the wealth, but she had always had a passion for fashion. She did work at a hair salon, after all.   
She dug through dress after dress, none of them seeming quite right, until her fingers brushed across the softest fabric yet.   
She pulled out another dress; white, like the room, but while the room was a softer white, the dress was pure white and almost sheer, with a layer of a silky fabric underneath. When she slid it over her head, it fell just above her knees.  
She glanced in the mirror and her mouth dropped open.  
She looked like Cinderella.   
Joan popped her head over her shoulder, smiling.   
“You look gorgeous.”  
“I...I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”  
“I didn’t...do anything.”  
“You gave me these dresses. I...this is amazing.”  
Joan laughed. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” She glanced up. “Wow, your hair looks pretty.”  
Jane glanced up, and was surprised and unsurprised at the same time to find that she had been styling her hair without even realizing it. She’d put it half back in a braid with two strands hanging freely in the front. Joan added tiny pale blue blossoms into the braid, and they added on silver bracelets and matching silver heels.  
The more Jane looked in the mirror, the more she felt like she really had been transported into a fairytale. A palace, friendly people already, and now she looked more beautiful than she had ever felt in her life.   
Joan smiled at her as they moved the final strand of hair into place. “You love this feeling, don’t you?”  
“I just...I’ve never felt like this before. It feels like magic.”  
“I’ve seen a lot of guests. None of them have ever said that.”  
“I didn’t think I’d be very different.”  
“But you are.”  
Jane turned to look into her maid’s eyes. “I hope that means good different.”  
Joan grinned as they walked towards the door, Jane wobbling slightly in her small heels. “You’re good different. Don’t worry. Now go knock ‘em dead at dinner.”  
Jane descended all three flights of stairs to get from the fourth floor to the first, only freezing briefly between the third floor and the fourth floor because Catalina was leaving her room, and Jane could already tell she was one of the girls she desperately wanted to avoid.  
Finally making it all the way down to the first floor and into the huge dining room, Jane’s feelings of fairytaleness began to dissolve. She still felt beautiful, but everyone else looked gorgeous, too, almost jaw-droppingly so, and once she sat at the long golden table with what seemed like endless plates and silverware, she felt even more awkward and out of place.  
But there were some upsides. She was sitting next to Kat, luckily, and the Five looked just as confused as she was.   
For another, none of the other girls were paying any attention to her. They were all staring at the throne down at the end of the hall where Prince Henry himself sat. He looked as handsome as in the many photos Jane had seen; wavy deep red hair, blue eyes that were as dark as dusk, Jane could feel herself just getting lost in them.   
Kat nudged her arm gently, whispering to her. “Jane, we’re eating now. You can stare at the Prince after you finish that salad we’re all pretending to enjoy.”  
Jane tried to hide her embarrassment by taking a huge gulp out of her goblet, then nearly spit it out when the drink inside turned out to be wine. Kat was giggling next to her.  
“Why do I have wine? I’ve never tasted wine before in my life!”  
“You’re over eighteen. I guess wine is common when you’re over eighteen if you’re a One?”  
“Well I can’t drink this!”  
“Do you want my water? I’m sixteen, so I can’t drink any wine.”  
“No, that’s all ri…” Jane was cut off by a laugh from across the table. She turned and saw Catalina sitting there, glowing in a dress made of gold silk.  
“Have you really never had wine before? Where did you grow up, in a barn?”  
Jane’s face turned red. She didn’t want to pick a fight, but she also wanted to stand up to her family.   
She was interrupted by a burst of laughter from the other end of the table. Everyone’s heads turned to see two women staring at a food sculpture of a pig that they’d clearly built. One was Kat’s cousin, Anne, who was wearing a shorter dress made of silver sequins with green accents, and another woman Jane didn’t know by name, but she was the same one who had been wearing a suit earlier that day. She had now shed her suit for a red jumpsuit and a black leather jacket, and looked completely different from everyone else at the table.   
“It’s so interesting meeting everyone else, isn’t it?” Kat took a bite of her bread, chewing as she looked at Jane thoughtfully.  
“Yeah, it really is. I never thought I’d meet this many different people.”  
“Me neither. I mean, I see a lot of people when a perform, but most of them are regular clients, and even so, the only people I really know are my family. We don’t even really have friends.”  
There was a pause between the two. Jane used it to take an opportunity to look at Kat’s dress, which was the same pink as her hair, but about four shades paler, and the skirt was covered in white butterflies.  
The booming voice of Mr. Adams (Jane could never call him Hades even though everyone did. It seemed too disrespectful to her), carried across the room, calling Kat’s name. Kat gave Jane a nervous glance, brown eyes shining under the lights.   
“Well, wish me luck.”  
And then she was walking across the room, pink skirt swishing and bouncing as she did so.  
There was a tap on Jane’s shoulder, forcing her to turn away from her odd new friend. She turned and groaned inwardly as she found herself face to face, once again, with Cathy Parr. She was wearing a deep blue velvet dress with a boatneck and looked so elegant Jane wanted to fall out of her chair.  
When she spoke, it was the complete opposite of her regal and imposing manner. Well, not the complete opposite. She just sounded...normal.  
“I’m so sorry, but...have we met before? You just look so familiar.”  
Jane’s mind instantly started racing. She didn’t want to lie to this girl, especially while she was doing something so incredibly important, but she also didn’t want to ruin said important thing for her, either.  
So she simply shook her head and said, “Nope, don’t think so,” and went back to eating her pasta. She would deal with this fully later.  
For now, Mr. Adams’s voice was booming across the room, and it was calling her name.  
She was walking over.  
She was really going to meet the Prince.  
She was kneeling at the foot of his throne.  
She was staring right into his deep blue eyes.  
And he was staring right back.  
Tension hung in the air between them. Jane felt her fingers tingle and her heart beat faster.  
“Who are you?”  
Jane gulped, trying to ignore the electric shocks that felt as though they were pulsing through her entire body.  
“Jane Seymour, Your Majesty.”  
“Enchanted, Lady Seymour.”  
Jane gulped, trying and failing to stop the bright red from spreading across her face. “The pleasure really is mine, Your Majesty.”  
“Please, call me Henry.”  
“Okay, Your Majesty.”  
There was an awkward silence between them. Jane wanted to slap herself, but Henry merely smiled.  
“Uhm...call me Jane.”  
“Okay, Lady Seymour.”  
Jane let out a laugh, and Henry gave her a warm smile from the throne.  
Mr. Adams cleared his throat. “Time’s up.”  
Jane curtsied as best as she could without falling over, and walked back to the table, her cheeks still glowing red.  
Kat was eating a piece of chocolate cake from the impressive dessert spread when she returned to the table. Most of the other girls were whispering to one another about their first encounters with Henry.  
“How’d it go?”  
Jane sighed, sinking into her chair. “I’m not sure. I think it went alright.”  
“You’re blushing.”  
“I am not!”  
“Jane, I didn’t go to a fancy school like most of the girls in this competition, and even I can tell you’re blushing.”  
“Education is not the same thing as intelligence.”  
Kat muttered something as she dug into her cake again. Jane could’ve been wrong, but it sounded a bit like “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”  
The rest of dinner flew by in a blur of coffee and giggling and staring at Henry from across the room. Looking at those deep, blue eyes…  
It only took a minute after returning to her room for Joan to smirk and say “So you think he’s cute, huh?”  
Jane blushed as she threw on her nightgown and fell into bed, exhausted despite the nap she’d taken.  
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Internalized classism. This and classism in general is a constant warning for this series, so if that bothers you, I'd skip out on this one.

It took Jane a moment after she woke up the following morning to remember where she was. For just a split second, she was sure she was still dreaming. How else could she have ended up in this soft, luxurious white room?

And then it all came flooding back to her at once.

She sat bolt upright in excitement to find a grinning Joan standing in the doorway.

“Why are you smiling?”

Joan laughed. “You’re not going to believe this, but we don’t get a lot of guests like you around here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Most of the people who come through are really, really bored.”

“ _ No _ !”

“It’s true. Most of them are politicians doing business. They don’t want to be working. They want to be home with their families, and if they don’t, they’ve got bigger problems than whatever’s going on here.”

Jane laughed, but quickly smothered it with her pillow when she heard heavy footsteps outside the door. The second they passed, she and Joan made eye contact. She tried not to laugh, but inevitably burst into uncontrollable giggles.

Joan smiled. “There’s tea and breakfast in the Women’s Room.”

“What’s that?”

Joan cocked her head. “It’s funny. I almost forgot you were new here.”

“I find  _ that  _ hard to believe.”

“No. You may be happier than a lot of the people I meet, but you also...fit in. Like you belong here.”

Jane yawned as she swung herself out of bed. “I’m glad you think so.”

“Be glad. I guarantee some of these girls will be gone by the end of the day.”

Jane gulped. “Why would you think that?”

Joan rolled her eyes. “You should’ve seen Prince Henry looking at all of your photos. He’s  _ very  _ picky.”

Jane tried to keep her expression neutral. “Oh, is he?”

Joan laughed. “Nice try.  _ You’ve  _ got nothing to worry about. The press has already pegged you as one of the nice ones. The people love you. They relate to you.”

“Really?”

“I’m not a liar.”

Jane sighed as she stared out the window. Despite the rather late hour, there was a mist hanging over the castle grounds. Considering they were at a higher elevation than she was used to, maybe that was normal.

“So what’s the Women’s Room?”

“Oh, it’s like a lounge, but specifically for the queen and her court. Right now, it’s being used for all of you. No one’s allowed in there except you, your maids, and Mr. Adams.”

“ _ He  _ gets to go in the Women’s Room?”

“Have you  _ seen  _ his scary face? He gets to go wherever he wants.”

“Fair enough.”

“So there’s breakfast?”

“Yeah. It’s  _ technically  _ not mandatory, but it is.”

Jane smiled. “I figured.” She walked over to the closet only to find it empty. “Uh...Joan?”

Joan laughed. “Oh yeah, forgot to tell you. Everyone’s getting a brand new wardrobe, and most of them are still being made, so for now, you just have to wear whatever I pick for you. Don’t worry, I won’t be  _ too  _ bad.”

Jane found a pale grey sundress with black and white flowers draped over the back of her chair. The material was smooth and silky, not quite as silky as the dress she’d worn the night before, but still much fancier than anything she’d ever owned. 

Joan helped show her the way to the Women’s Room. Jane was struck by how much she reminded her of her own little sister, Elizabeth. Quiet on the outside, but with a biting wit and a fierce personality. She liked that.

She paused at the door to the room, waiting for Joan to come in. 

“Aren’t you coming?”

Joan rolled her eyes. “We’re not allowed in unless you ‘summon us.’”

Jane grinned. “Well then, you’ve been summoned.”

“You’re not supposed to do that?”

“Has anyone ever actually said that?”

“Well, no.”

“You’re my friend!”

“Fiiine, I’ll come in. But keep me away from that Catalina girl. Her maid, Maria, knows how to tolerate her because she literally came with her. She wouldn’t let any of us go near her.”

“Lucky you.”

“Tell me about it.”

The two girls shared a smile before walking in. Jane grabbed a chocolate croissant from the breakfast spread, marvelling at how flaky the pastry was. She’d never even  _ touched  _ a croissant before, let alone eaten one this amazing.

“You should take one, too.”

“That is also very not allowed.”

“Oh, come on. Some of the girls here have seven of those things. One extra for me won’t kill anyone.”

Joan sighed. “If I get fired for this, I’m blaming you.”

“And you will have every right to.” Jane spotted Kat waving from across the room. “Come on.”

The two blonde women made their way over to the small seat by the window where Kat was perched, eating a muffin full of some sort of red fruit and staring blankly into the sky.

Jane cleared her throat. “Uh...Kat, this is Joan. Joan, Kat.”

Joan gave her a bemused smirk. “You’re terrible at introductions, aren’t you?”

Jane blushed. “In my defense, everybody in Pipeland already knows everybody.”

Kat turned away from the window, still looking a bit starry-eyed, as she often did. “Good morning!”

“Did you sleep well?”

Kat groaned. “Not really. I love my room, but it’s at the top of this tower, which I think is for the sake of the view, and don’t get me wrong, I’m super grateful, but I can’t figure out how to close the window, and it was just really cold.”

Joan rolled her eyes. Jane could tell that the maid didn’t open up to people easily, and she had no idea what had made her want to open up to  _ her  _ in the first place.    
“Why didn’t you ask your maid?”

Kat turned pink. When she spoke, it was in the same quiet tone she’d used when she and Jane had first met (Had that really only been the day before? It felt like nearly a lifetime ago), but there were currents of hurt underneath the softness.

“I did ask her. She couldn’t figure it out either.”

Joan’s face turned red. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“I’m a Five. I get it.”

Despite the eighteen other girls milling around the room, it suddenly felt eerily silent. 

“Is that your  _ maid _ ?”

Jane tried to suppress herself from groaning at the already irritatingly recognizable voice. “Yes, Catalina. This is Joan.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“I invited her.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s my friend.”

The Two cocked her head, seemingly genuinely bewildered. “That doesn’t make sense. What are you, a Four?”

Joan was turning very, very red. 

Kat stood up. “Catalina, I think we would all appreciate it if you left now.”

The young woman put her hand on her hip. “Oh, and you get a say why?”

Just as Jane thought Kat was going to smash her guitar over Catalina’s head, they were all startled by a harsh laugh from across the room. She turned, and to her shock and annoyance, there was Cathy, looking much less approachable than she had the night before and still nowhere near as intimidating as Catalina, though she was clearly trying to.

Catalina smirked. “Oh look. My new friend wants to say hello.”

Cathy laughed again. “Lina, they don’t understand your beliefs. That’s why they’re being such idiots.”   
“I think they were idiots long before I shared my ‘beliefs.’” She said the word ‘beliefs’ in finger quotes, as though she saw them as facts, which, in fairness, she probably did.

Joan stood and put her hand on her hip. “Oh? And what beliefs are those?”

Catalina rolled her eyes. “Oh, you know. How the castes represent where we’re meant to be because of who we are, and how we shouldn’t interact with those too far outside our own.”

She bent down from her (admittedly formidable) height so that she was at eye level with Kat. “I wouldn’t expect someone like  _ you  _ to understand.”

Jane saw Joan’s fist clenching very tightly and Kat trying very hard to stare out the window and ignore what was happening

Of course, the television cameras floating around the room certainly weren’t ignoring it.

But before anything could happen, the cameras were distracted by Anne (who Jane had already rapidly learned to recognize), leaping on top of the piano and beginning to sing.

Very, very loudly.   
And badly.

Her friend (Jane had yet to figure out her name, but she was the one who kept wearing suits), instantly joined in on the fun by banging her fork repeatedly on her plate.

It sounded absolutely awful, but Jane couldn’t keep herself from giggling.

Neither could anyone else.

It was Catalina’s turn to flush bright red. She clearly didn’t like having the cameras on anyone but her.

She grabbed Cathy’s hand. Jane didn’t actually know much about her brother’s ex girlfriend, but she already pitied her. Being Catalina’s “friend” during this competition sounded like an absolute nightmare. 

Then again, she was clever, at least according to Thomas. Maybe she had her reasons after all.

The second the ruckus had died down, Kat’s cousin hopped off the piano and made her way over.

“You’re welcome.”

Jane bristled. “I’m sorry, what?”

The girl laughed. Unlike Cathy’s laugh earlier that morning, there was nothing forced about it. It was loud, almost too loud, and full. “I was only doing you a favor. You clearly wanted to get away from her.”

Joan cocked her head. “Sorry...who are you again?”

The girl laughed. “So sorry. I guess I’d thought Kat would introduce me. I’m Anne.” She gestured to her friend who was coming over. “This is Anna.”

“Hello!”    
“Hello!”

Anne grinned. “So yeah, the girl’s a nightmare.”

Joan rolled her eyes. “That’s an understatement.”

“Someone needs to knock her off her high horse.”

Anne smirked and batted her eyelashes. “What?  _ No _ ! No one could  _ possibly  _ be doing that by stealing the cameras and having fun!”

Anna punched her playfully on the arm. “You  _ wouldn’t _ .”

“Like you don’t know I would.”

Kat smiled, and Jane noticed she’d begun to play with her guitar again. “Do you two know each other?”

Anne grinned and put her arm around Anna. “Nope! But if you haven’t noticed, alliances and the like tend to form fast around here.”

Kat smiled. “You don’t say.”

Jane was about to say that she already considered Kat and Joan her friends when trumpets sounded and Mr. Adams entered the Women’s Room.

The entire space fell into instant silence.

He scanned the room, his cold gaze passing over each and every girl until finally landing right on Jane.

She gulped and tried to stand up straight as he began to approach.

“Lady Seymour?”

She suddenly felt as though she was floating in the middle of an ocean all on her own, about to drown.

“Yes, Your Honor?”

He shoved a scroll into her hand. “Your presence is requested by the prince in the garden tomorrow night. Do not be late.”

And he left the room, black coat billowing behind him, and slammed the door shut, leaving the women in a state of shock.

And then the room went right back to being filled with the normal chatter.

Well, almost normal.

Everyone was looking at Jane.

Kat squeezed her hand gently, bringing her back to reality. Joan smiled.

“Well, that was exciting.”

Kat grinned. “Exciting? That was  _ amazing _ ! I  _ knew  _ he liked you!”

But all Jane could see were the death glares that Catalina and Cathy were giving her from across the room.

“Yeah, I suppose amazing is one word for it.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Nerves.

The next day and a half seemed to fly by in no time, and before Jane knew it, she was staring at herself in the mirror, trying to convince Joan to let her do her own hair. She was already wearing a silvery silk dress that made her feel a thousand times more regal than she’d ever dreamed, but of course, in the Selection, there was always more to be done.

“Joan, I’ve told you a million times. I literally worked in a salon. It was my entire job for nineteen years. You’re wonderful, but there’s no one better at this than I am. Just let me put my hair up, please!”

“It’s  _ really  _ weird for a Lady of the Selection to put her own hair up. You know that, right?”

“Any weirder than anything else I’ve done?”

“Well, no.”

“Just give me the brush.”

Joan sighed and handed her the brush. Jane grinned and began running it through her hair.

The truth was, she didn’t care who did her hair, or even how it looked, really. But she was nervous, terrified, actually, and braiding hair was soothing. The weaving, the neatness, the rhythm, it was all so neat and simple. Nerves didn’t have a place in a perfectly done coil.

Of course, all perfectly done coils fell out eventually.

Joan moved to place tiny silver flowers in her hair. They glowed in the light of the setting sun coming through the huge window.

“Nervous, huh?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

Joan grabbed her shoulders and spun her around so they were facing one another. “Jane, you are a wonderful person and I hate to tell you this, but you are a horrible actress.”

Jane laughed. “Yeah, I know that.”

“So why are you nervous?”

The blonde girl sighed, sinking down onto the couch.

“It’s just...for years, this is all I’ve ever wanted. To have this chance at a fairytale. I mean, it’s every girl’s dream. And when I heard about this, I had this feeling in my gut that made me want to do it even more. But now it all feels so…”

“Real?”

“Yeah. Now all I can think about is what happens if he doesn’t like me. What if he thinks I’m too quiet? Or too soft? Or too weird, or too poor, or…”

“Love, if he doesn’t like you for who you are, that makes him an idiot, not you.”

“He’s the prince! You shouldn’t say things like that!”

“Who’s going to notice? I’m good at flying under the radar.”

“One of these days, you’re going to get caught!”

“Mmmhmm, like I’m catching you trying to change the subject?”

There was silence.

“...no.”

“That was a very long pause.”

“What if he hates me?”

“He won’t hate you. He can’t. He chose you to be his first date. That always means something.”

“But what if it doesn’t?”

“What if talking pigs with lasers shooting out of their eyes suddenly take over the palace? Love, there’s a million what-ifs. You can’t dwell on them, or you’ll just ruin everything that’s actually happening!”

Jane sighed, smoothing her dress. “How did you get so wise?”

“Lots and lots of self teaching.”

“Someday you’ll have to tell me the full story of that.”

“Now that you’ll just have to wait for.”

“I can live with that.”

“You certainly can for now. Because  _ you’ve  _ got a date.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

But Joan was already leading her out the door. “Just be yourself. What more could he want?”   
And the door closed behind her.

Jane checked her reflection in the looking glass across the hall, smoothed her dress one last time, and walked down the stairs, her skirt billowing out around her knees like a raincloud.

She could see the other girls poking their heads out of the halls. She could see Millie and Maiya from the seventh floor sitting on one of the couches in the fourth floor game room and pretending not to look at her. As she passed the third floor, she saw Catalina and Cathy (who lived in the West Wing but seemed to be here anyway), engaged in some form of conversation. Catalina, too, was staring at her with immense jealousy. Jane hurried quickly past that floor.

The clock chimes six thirty, signaling that she would be late if she didn’t hurry. She raced down the stairs as fast as she could while trying to remain composed and not fall flat on her face. She passed a clump of girls on the second floor consisting of Grace, Vicki, Courtney S, and Collette, waving hello as she ran by. They all seemed like nice girls, and they’d already formed a little group despite their different castes (they were a Five, two Twos, and a Four), which meant they couldn’t be too bad, at least not in that sort of way. 

Reaching the bottom of the steps just as the clock chimed for the last time, Jane tried to squash her nerves out of her and be calm. On the other hand, maybe she could just  _ look  _ calm, not necessarily actually  _ be  _ calm.

On the third hand, neither task was proving particularly easy.

Prince Henry was standing at the end of the hall, right next to the door to the garden. The setting sun was shining through the open archway, reflecting off his red hair and making it glow. 

He looked completely stunning.

Jane wanted to fall over right then and there. 

But she forced herself to stand up straight and walk over to Henry instead. He was flanked on either side by two guards, both of whom eyed the blonde girl warily. She gulped and stared at her shoes. At least they were nice shoes to stare at.

Henry cleared his throat and turned to address the guards. “Leave us. I will call if there is any trouble.” The two guards nodded, turned, and walked to stand on either side of the hall, a little ways away from where Henry and Jane were standing. 

“Shall we, Lady Seymour?”

Jane’s throat was almost too dry to speak, but she managed to nod and let out a quick “it’s my pleasure.” It was all she could do to keep her eyes from falling out of her head as Henry led her into the garden. Each patch of flowers seemed more stunning than the last, and looking into Henry’s eyes didn’t exactly help distract her, either.

She found herself in the very center of the garden, where there was a fountain, a large reflecting pool, a tree covered in pink blossoms, and a gazebo at the other end of the pool. Henry took her arm and led her to the gazebo, sitting them both down on the stone bench. The minute he sat, his posture seemed to change. The rigidity with which he’d held himself before, replaced with something that was almost normal for a young man, but just a little too proper for that.

“So sorry about the guards and all that. It’s exhausting. How are you today?”

Jane blinked. She almost felt as though she’d gotten whiplash.

“Uh...I’m okay. How are you?”

“Exhausted. I’ve been doing nothing but reading legal documents and drafts of treaties for the entire day.”

“We can stop if you’re too tired!”

Henry smiled at her. “I knew I liked you.”

“Beg pardon?”

“Most girls wouldn’t say something like that. They all want this for the money, or the fame, or the power. But you...I can tell you’re different. You’re here for love.”   
“I’m here for a lot of reasons. I’d bet a lot of the others would say the same. Most of them seem like good people.”

“Looks can be deceiving, Lady Seymour.”

“You really can just call me Jane.”

“Well then, Jane. Why are you here?”

There was silence. The fountain bubbled. Birds chirped in the distance.

“That’s...a bit of a heavy question for a first date, isn’t it?”

“Look Jane, I like you. I mean that genuinely. But this entire process is fast tracked. That’s just how it works. So I’m not going to have time to play around and wait to talk about the important stuff.”

There was another pause. Jane wanted to slap herself. She was doing  _ everything  _ wrong.

“You remind me of my best friend back home, you know.”

“Oh?”

“Her name’s Cecily. We grew up together. She was so different from me, but I think that’s why we got along so well. We helped each other.”

“And in what way was she so different from you?”

“She was honest. Like you, but maybe even more, brutally so, but not in a mean way, she just always said what you needed to hear, even if it wasn’t always what you wanted.”

“And you think that’s what I do?”

“I think it’s what you believe in doing.”

“And you don’t?”

“I do, but I believe that sometimes love and kindness are more important than the whole truth.”   
“You would lie to someone?”

“If the truth would break them, then...yes, I guess I would.” Jane paused. “Bit of an odd question to ask the girl who’s worked at a hair salon for nineteen years.”

“I think we’ve established that I’m not an ordinary man.” Henry wiggled his eyebrows in a goofy way, and to Jane’s surprise, she found herself laughing.   
“That may be a bit of an understatement.”

“Just a little one.”   
They laughed, their laughter seeming to bounce through the light reflecting off the pool. The sky was beginning to darken, and Jane could see the moon beginning to creep into the sky.

She hadn’t realized she was staring at it until Henry spoke again.   
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

She sighed in awe. “Breathtaking.”

“Do you see the moon and the stars a lot at home?”

Jane nodded. “It’s one of my favorite things. Pipeland is tiny and there aren’t many lights, so we see the moon and stars whenever it’s clear. Sometimes we even all turn out our lights and look at the night sky together.”

“As a whole town?”

“As a whole town.”

There was silence as a shooting star flew overhead.

“Make a wish, Henry.”

But Henry seemed not to hear her.

“Are you all right?”

He blinked.

“Of course I’m all right. I’m just imagining what it would be like to have an entire town of friends.”

“You must have a lot of friends.”

“Not really. There isn’t anyone else my age here.”

“Back home, that doesn’t matter. Some of my best friends are more than three times my age!”

“Well, there aren’t many non stiff politicians here, either.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been lonely.”

“It was. But with the Selection, I’m not so lonely anymore.” His blue eyes locked onto hers. “I’m hoping to find someone I can count on.”

Another shooting star passed overhead. His fingers slowly reached over and twined themselves around hers.    
“Think you can make a wish this time, Jane?”

Jane sighed, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his.

“I think I might just have already made mine.”

Henry smiled.

“I think I know what my wish is.”

The clock chimed from inside the castle, signaling the late hour. Jane yawned as she heard it, tiredness beginning to set in. The days here were no doubt exciting, but draining was an understatement.

Henry checked his watch. “I’m sorry, Jane. I think our time is up.”

“That’s all right.”

There was another pause as they stood.

“Will I see you again soon?”

“I hope so. But I have to meet all the girls. It’s the rules.”

“You don’t strike me as a rule follower.”

“ _ You  _ don’t strike me as a rule  _ breaker. _ ”

“Maybe we’re both wrong.”

“Maybe we’re both right.”

Jane blinked. They were suddenly standing at the entrance to the palace yet again. Had they really walked all the way there? She hadn’t even noticed. She turned to Henry, whose posture, she noticed, was back to stick straight and rigid in the presence of the guards.

“I had a lovely time, Your Majesty.”

To her surprise, Henry bent down, twined his fingers around her wrist, and pressed his lips softly to her knuckles.

“The pleasure is mine, Lady Seymour.”

And with that, he was gone.

Blushing scarlet and still trying to convince herself that what had just happened hadn’t been a dream, Jane began to make her way up all four flights of stairs to the comfort and calm of her room.

But she was stopped on the second floor.

Namely, she was stopped on the second floor by a mob of very energetic young women, some looking excited, others malicious.    
She gulped.

Catalina stepped out of the crowd, smirking and placing her hand on her hip, as though she knew how uncomfortable Jane was. Knowing her, she probably did.

“Well? How did it go?”


	8. Chapter 8

So, for the moment, I’m putting this fic on hiatus.  
I’ve been feeling uninspired about it for a while, and I’ve started two AUs for other fandoms, which are harder to write than Six, so I needed to drop something in order to not burn out.  
This AU will be continued and completed, but that’s gonna happen when I’ve had more time to plan it and once I’ve finished up another of my long fics.  
For all the Six fans who are here, don’t worry about my branching into other fandoms. Six is and always will be the show closest to my heart. If I’m writing, I will write for it, and I have many oneshot prompts lined up.   
I hope none of you are mad. Thanks for bearing with me.   
❤️


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